Past Events
Monday, March 30, 2009
Lecture
"Insurgency at the Margins: The Politics of Shelter and Humanitarianism in Refugee Spaces"
Romola Sanyal, Ph. D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Rice University Chao Center for Asian Studies
Ph.D. Architecture, University of California, Berkeley, 2008
Sponsored by Rice University's Chao Center for Asian Studies and
Program in Poverty, Social Justice, and Human Capabilities
of the Center for the Study of Women,Gender, and Sexuality
Thursday, March 26, 2009Humanities Building 117
Rice Universiy Campus
Monday, March 30, 2009
4:00 p.m.
Richard Arneson (UC-San Diego) “Friendship and Partiality”
4:00 to 5:30 PM, Kelly International Conference Facility, Baker Hall
Rice University Lecture Series in Ethics, Politics, and Society
Good friends are disposed to favor friends over strangers, but how does this partiality reconcile with morality, which requires impartial concern for all? On many accounts, the basis of friendship is the recognition of an individual’s attractive and admirable traits — but traits may disappear, so there is tension between this idea and the ideal of unconditionally enduring love and friendship. If putting a thumb on the scale in favor of one’s friends and family members is acceptable in some contexts, what about partiality to fellow members of one’s own community, nation, ethnic or racial group? Richard Arneson presents an account of friendship that addresses some of these issues while recognizing that others may remain vexing and yet unsolved.
You are Cordially Invited to
a Presentation on
Globalization, Gender And Poverty: Strategies For Funding Social Protection
by
Dr. Caren Grown
American University
Friday, February 27, 2009
4:00 PM Lecture
Reception to Follow
Doré Commons, Baker Hall
| Caren Grown is Economist-in-Residence at American University and an associate editor of the journal Feminist Economics. She is a guest editor of the upcoming 2010 Feminist Economics special issue on Unpaid Work, Time Use, Poverty, and Public Policy. A founding member of the International Working Group on Gender and Macroeconomics, she is also a member of the External Gender Forum of the Asian Development Bank. Her current research focuses on assets and women's well-being, gender equality and public finance, and international trade and gender. She has edited and authored a number of articles and books on gender equality, development, and macroeconomics, including most recently, The Feminist Economics of Trade and Trading Women's Health and Rights: Trade Liberalization and Reproductive Health in Developing Economies. |  |
Sponsored by
The Program in Poverty, Social Justice, and Human Capabilities
of the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
The James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
R.S.V.P. to Christine Medina at cmedina@rice.edu or by fax to 713-348-5495 by Monday, February 23, 2009.
Sweatshop Ethics: Gender and Debate over Global Labor Standards
by
Dr. Günseli Berik, University of Utah
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Doré Commons, Baker Hall
Sponsored by
The Program in Poverty, Social Justice, and Human Capabilities
of the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
The James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
The Chao Center For Asian Studies
Günseli Berik is associate professor in the Department of Economics and the Gender Studies Program at the University of Utah and an associate editor of the journal Feminist Economics. She has pioneered research in international trade, gender inequality, and global labor standards. She was a guest editor of the 2007 Feminist Economics special issue on Gender, China, and the World Trade Organization, soon to be republished in Chinese. She is the author or editor of many published books and articles, including "Do Unions Help or Hinder Women?" and "Still a Wedge in the Door: Women Training for the Construction Trades in the U.S." |
 |
The Program in Poverty, Social Justice, and Human Capabilities
of the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
The James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
The Chao Center For Asian Studies
Events 2007-2008
The program in Poverty, Social Justice, and Human Capabilities hosted a lunch presentation by
Nicky Yates of charity: water
Followed by a question and answer session
March 27, 2008
Baker Institute, Room 102
charity: water is a non-profit initiative bringing clean water and basic sanitation into impoverished communities. Their work focuses on construction and rehabilitation of wells in Africa, India, and Bangladesh.
Students interested in global health issues, engineering projects in developing countries, clean water, and non-profit management were encouraged to attend.
03/27/2008
Where the U.S. meets Mexico
Students explore injustices in border towns
BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff
One morning, students in professor Rosemary Hennessy's English class were discussing texts that examine the impact of free trade on northern Mexican communities. The next day they were in those border communities, exploring for themselves the conditions that the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had given way to.
After learning about the harsh conditions and the struggle for justice in their readings, Hennessy's students wanted to go to the border and learn more.
Students explore injustices in border towns
BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff
One morning, students in professor Rosemary Hennessy's English class were discussing texts that examine the impact of free trade on northern Mexican communities. The next day they were in those border communities, exploring for themselves the conditions that the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had given way to.
After learning about the harsh conditions and the struggle for justice in their readings, Hennessy's students wanted to go to the border and learn more.
 |
| COURTESY PHOTO |
| Sarah
Taylor, Gislaine Williams and Dayna Fondell visit with members of the
colonia Blanca Navidad, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, an unincorporated border
community where people live in shacks and without adequate water and
sewer systems, paved roads and electricity. |
"We wanted an opportunity to meet the people face-to-face," said Sarah
Taylor, a Sid Richardson senior. "We had read their testimonies about
the effects of NAFTA below the border, but we wanted to get a better
idea of the context and environment."
So with support from Rice's Program in Poverty, Social Justice and Human Capabilities, Hennessy planned a weekend trip for the students to Nuevo Laredo, Valle Hermoso and Matamoros.
"One objective of the trip was to put a human face on the data and information from the texts," said Hennessy, director of the Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality.
Strong community
On the trip, led by Hennessy and Martha Ojeda, executive director of the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, the students visited a "colonia" -- an unincorporated border community where people live in shacks and without adequate water and sewer systems, paved roads and electricity.
The colonia they visited, Blanca Navidad, is on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo where migrant workers are engaged in a struggle with the municipal government over land and water rights. Many of the community members work in "maquiladoras," manufacturing or export processing plants that assemble products for the U.S. and other countries.
"I was surprised by the strength of the people," said Dayna Fondell, a Will Rice senior. "They have a great ability to use their extremely scarce resources to fight against injustice. It's inspiring."
In Valle Hermoso, the students even had the opportunity to sit in on one of the planning meetings in which workers were deciding how to organize for better wages and working conditions.
"There's the assumption that they can't do it for themselves," Fondell said, "that we have to do it for them. But that is not the case at all."
Not just below the border
The workers were from a manufacturing plant that assembles air bags and seat belts for the Big Three U.S. automakers.
"We are not removed from what is occurring below our border," said Gislaine Williams, a Jones College senior. "Their struggles are connected to us. U.S. policies are affecting others. We need to take responsibility for the role we have in what's happening."
All three students agreed that the first step to healing the border towns is to inform U.S. citizens. They said that the majority of people in the U.S. are oblivious to the poverty, injustice and brutal labor conditions that exist in the colonia.
"Not a lot of American voices are calling for a change," Fondell said. "We need a call for change coming from within our country."
Heading into the 2008 election, it's an opportune time for the U.S. to reexamine policies and the unintended implications of those policies, Hennessy said.
"The time is right now," Hennessy said. "Issues that have been neglected, such as workers and immigrant rights, can be brought to the forefront."
'I saw myself'
On the trip, Hennessy and the students also visited a "house of immigrants," where people can stay for a few days before completing their journey to the U.S. The visit hit close to home for Williams, who came to the U.S. from Honduras when she was 5.
"It made me sad to see what people had to go through just to get to the U.S.," Williams said. "I saw myself in them, even though I came to the U.S. in much better conditions. But it made me think, 'That could be me or my family.'"
Williams has been involved in crusading for immigrant rights and plans to continue activist work.
"The trip, especially the visit to the house of immigrants, renewed my commitment to that work," Williams said.
Taylor and Fondell agreed that the trip reinforced their own determination to work for others.
So with support from Rice's Program in Poverty, Social Justice and Human Capabilities, Hennessy planned a weekend trip for the students to Nuevo Laredo, Valle Hermoso and Matamoros.
"One objective of the trip was to put a human face on the data and information from the texts," said Hennessy, director of the Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality.
Strong community
On the trip, led by Hennessy and Martha Ojeda, executive director of the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, the students visited a "colonia" -- an unincorporated border community where people live in shacks and without adequate water and sewer systems, paved roads and electricity.
The colonia they visited, Blanca Navidad, is on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo where migrant workers are engaged in a struggle with the municipal government over land and water rights. Many of the community members work in "maquiladoras," manufacturing or export processing plants that assemble products for the U.S. and other countries.
"I was surprised by the strength of the people," said Dayna Fondell, a Will Rice senior. "They have a great ability to use their extremely scarce resources to fight against injustice. It's inspiring."
In Valle Hermoso, the students even had the opportunity to sit in on one of the planning meetings in which workers were deciding how to organize for better wages and working conditions.
"There's the assumption that they can't do it for themselves," Fondell said, "that we have to do it for them. But that is not the case at all."
Not just below the border
The workers were from a manufacturing plant that assembles air bags and seat belts for the Big Three U.S. automakers.
"We are not removed from what is occurring below our border," said Gislaine Williams, a Jones College senior. "Their struggles are connected to us. U.S. policies are affecting others. We need to take responsibility for the role we have in what's happening."
All three students agreed that the first step to healing the border towns is to inform U.S. citizens. They said that the majority of people in the U.S. are oblivious to the poverty, injustice and brutal labor conditions that exist in the colonia.
"Not a lot of American voices are calling for a change," Fondell said. "We need a call for change coming from within our country."
Heading into the 2008 election, it's an opportune time for the U.S. to reexamine policies and the unintended implications of those policies, Hennessy said.
"The time is right now," Hennessy said. "Issues that have been neglected, such as workers and immigrant rights, can be brought to the forefront."
'I saw myself'
On the trip, Hennessy and the students also visited a "house of immigrants," where people can stay for a few days before completing their journey to the U.S. The visit hit close to home for Williams, who came to the U.S. from Honduras when she was 5.
"It made me sad to see what people had to go through just to get to the U.S.," Williams said. "I saw myself in them, even though I came to the U.S. in much better conditions. But it made me think, 'That could be me or my family.'"
Williams has been involved in crusading for immigrant rights and plans to continue activist work.
"The trip, especially the visit to the house of immigrants, renewed my commitment to that work," Williams said.
Taylor and Fondell agreed that the trip reinforced their own determination to work for others.
Friday October 26, 2007
The Program in Poverty, Social Justice, and Human Capabilities,
The Program in Poverty, Social Justice, and Human Capabilities,
and
The James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy
Presented
"Poverty, Gender, and the Millennium Development Goals: Debates, Progress, and Ways Forward"
by Caren Grown, Economist-in-Residence at American University.